I Felt Something
by Buddyboy98
Summary: AU; Pre-ANH; It's inauguration day in the Imperial Senate, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine are required to go and swear in the new Senators. One of the new Senators: Leia Organa. In such close proximity with her, what will happen to Vader?
1. Prologue

**I felt something**

His entry was ominous, even to Darth Vader, who had been accompanying his master to these events for the past decade and a half. He took one step after agonizingly slow step, all the while balancing himself on his walking cane, until he reached the mammoth chair in the center of the Senate Floor.

It really wasn't a chair, parse, but a lavishly adorned throne, from which he sat to oversee sessions of the Galactic Imperial Senate from time to time. He remembered the days when Media outlets on the Capital World would focus in on that chair alone and ignore the debates going on in the chamber. They would refer to it as a symbol of the oppressive tax system that the Emperor had put it place. They were fools, Vader remarked in his own mind, the taxes throughout the Empire had been hiked up to pay for the Military and it's special projects, not to pay for the gaudy chairs his master sat in.

When his master was firmly seated in the chair, he turned to scowl at the Senate Clerk, whose job it was to announce him. Vader, who was standing directly right of the Emperor, threw in a menacing stance for good measure and that seemed to get the job done. The cowering human male coughed and looked up to the silent Senators, "Presenting, His Imperial Highness, Autocrat of all of the Stars, Emperor Palpatine. Joining him is the Commander and Chief of the Imperial Military, the Lord Darth Vader."

There was a tense round of applause and Vader actually found himself smirking in amusement. A majority of the Senators feared both himself and the Emperor and that was exactly what they wanted. This antiquated body of bureaucrats couldn't measure up to the final will of the Emperor. When the Emperor made a decision, it was executed immediately. It didn't have to go through the hours, upon hours of mindless, inane babbling back and forth, it was set, it was law and there was no mindless chatter.

Lives were saved that way and Rebellion was crushed that way.

If Palpatine had been Emperor instead of Chancellor at the start of the Clone Wars, odds were, things would have come to a steady, faster and more merciful conclusion. The Republic might have won the war faster, instead of a costly war that turned the two and a half thousand year old Government into a cancerous blight upon the Galaxy. But he couldn't cry over spilt Caf.

"Madam Doorkeeper," His master spoke in a painfully false royal tone, waving a withered old finger in her direction, "Please bring forth the Senators Elect."

The elderly looking human female with bright gray hair and withered frame had been in both incarnations of the Senate, the Old Republic Senate and this one. She had been the doorkeeper decades before Palpatine even had become Senator of Naboo. Vader shook his head in slight admiration for the woman, the history she must have seen, and to have survived the transition. She was certainly more formidable then she seemed, "She is an old friend Lord Vader."

"Master?" Vader turned with a curios inflection towards Palpatine.

The crinkled skin of the Emperor's mouth turned upwards into a faint, surprisingly fond smile towards the Doorkeeper. It was as if he was remembering a fond memory that he held of her. There must have been many, Vader supposed, they would have known each other for over thirty five years. "You are wondering why I have allowed her to stay. The answer is simple my apprentice, she had proved her loyalty to me, thousands of times over. I hold her in the highest regard. I would grant her every wish."

But he wouldn't get the chance to pursue the matter as the heavy doors to the Senate opened with a hiss. Since the Emperor had converted the Republic to the Empire, he had the old Senate Building torn down and built a slightly smaller and economically friendly, not to mention cheaper one built in its place. The days of the floating platforms and the majestic halls of democracy were gone and were replaced by this. The Senate was darker, it was dimmer and it had lost its majesty. It was now clear to anyone with a thought of Political and Historical sense that the Imperial Senate was a front, it was fake.

The man perched in the grand throne to his right controlled everything, from the Economy, to Trade routes, to the media. These Senators didn't control a thing and that's the way it was going to stay. It was the biggest open secret in the Galaxy that they were simply there for show. These four new Senators would learn that, and they would learn it quickly. If they came to the Capital to try and push an agenda, they wouldn't have to appeal to the Senate. They'd have to appeal to the Emperor.

And there were only a select few people who could do that.

Vader's mind refocused back onto the events at hand as the first Senator and their predecessor approached the throne. The first two Senators were from Alderaan. Senator Bail Organa was here to help inaugurate his daughter, Leia Organa to his position. He had never really met the Princess before, but he knew her father. Organa had been a never ceasing pain for the past decade and a half, taking every opportunity to undermine the Government and the credibility of the Emperor.

Looking back on that now, back on his old life, he supposed that Organa had always been that way. He should have seen that in his vote against the creation of the Military, but he hadn't thought much of it then. He simply bowed to the Jedi Masters and went where they sent him. He was blind, and he was also blinded to the arrogance that was Bail Organa.

To be honest, the only reason that he had ever tolerated the man back then was because his wife was good friends with him. Seeing as she wasn't there, and the Galaxy was a different palace, Vader was free to hate the man all he wanted too. But Organa would be leaving within the next few seconds and his daughter would be the new Senator.

There was something strange about Leia Organa, her brown hair, her eyes, her face, Vader knew that he had seen it before. And when he touched her in the Force, again, there was something there that he had felt before. When the girl raised her hand primly, and took on the posture of a natural born politician, a shiver ran down his spine. Yes, he had seen that somewhere before, "Senator-Elect Organa? How are you today?"

"Very well your majesty," Leia smiled uneasily and cast a glance towards Vader for a moment, and then he had no doubts that he had met this girl before, or someone related to her. He knew that the Princess, and now Senator was adopted, perhaps it was her birthparents, "How are you."

Palpatine smiled pleasantly at the girl, Vader knew that it was a thinly disguised smile, because if he could feel something radiating from the girl, his master could as well, "I'm doing well, so, shall we swear you in?"

Vader watched as the girl nodded and cleared her throat slightly. When she spoke the oath that would officially make her the Senator from Alderaan, he noticed something peculiar. It wasn't about the girl, she was interesting enough as it was, but it was from the girl's father. Organa was trying, and failing to hide his frequent glances towards him. It was almost as if the now ex-Senator was trying to gauge him. But what would Organa be trying to gauge him off of? Could it have been the girl?

Curious…

* * *

><p>It was later that night, after all of the parties welcoming the new Senators and other Government officials were over and Darth Vader stood alone on the balcony outside of his personal quarters. His massive arms were folded over his chest as he stared out at the twinkling lights of the city that spanned the entire planet. The inauguration of Leia Organa had been several hours ago, but it had been the only thing on his mind. He couldn't understand why Bail Organa seemed so …fidgety while his daughter was near him. It was also killing him that he couldn't place where he had seen the girl before, or a relative of the girl. But he had seen that face before and had felt the presence before, if only he could figure it out.<p>

"Something troubles you Lord Vader?" Palpatine's silky voice came from behind him. Vader knew that his master was directly behind him and making his way to join him from the slight click of his cane against the floor.

"Organa, and his daughter," Vader said, "You must have felt it as well?"

Palpatine smiled and nodded, "Yes, Viceroy Organa seemed hesitant to let his daughter around us, and the Senator, she seems …familiar to me, you as well?"

Vader nodded, "I know I've seen her face before."

"Perhaps she is a child of a Jedi," Palpatine offered lightly, he had no doubt that his apprentice had wiped out the vast majority of them, but it was entirely possible that a few had slipped through the cracks, "Organa was always friendly with them, perhaps Organa adopted the girl?"

"I do not know," Vader said softly, and then he turned to Palpatine, "With your permission Master, I request to explore this matter further. Call it a personal request, if you will, but I feel that there is something we're not seeing."

The Emperor stared long and hard at his apprentice until he nodded once in affirmation. Perhaps it was best for Vader to explore this, and his apprentice was right about one thing. There was something that they weren't seeing about the girl, and if there was someone who could figure it out. It was Darth Vader, "Very well, you are free to do whatever you wish."

Vader nodded once and bowed before turning on his heel and departing.

Palpatine turned back and looked out over the cityscape. There was something in the air, he mused as he took a deep breath in, and it was the wind of change. If that change was for the good or bad, he didn't know.

But he wouldn't fear it.

Nor would his apprentice.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I suppose that the last section was a little out of character for the Emperor. Oh well. Anyway, I've got a dozen more of these things ready, I'm on a serious role. Tell me what you think about it!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Darth Vader had unimaginable resources at his disposal.

The Imperial Intelligence Network stretched throughout the Galaxy and had a foothold on every settled planet. Thanks to his ability to access the joint network, he could assemble information on any known person that he wished. As such, it was fairly easy for him at least begin to gather information on the Royal Family of Alderaan. When the New Order was declared fifteen years ago, his master had ordered the Intelligence Branch to keep something of a close eye on the Royals of Alderaan. Palpatine, as well as Vader, knew that if they didn't keep the Organa Family under supervision, they could eventually start a fire that the rest of the Empire could receive. Whenever one of them left that planet, they were constantly tracked and when they were on planet, Imperial Spies in the Alderaan Palace kept detailed observations.

It terms of information, the Princess had more information on her then her parents did. When Vader examined the records more closely, he discovered that the Princess's Palace Attendants were in fact Imperial Spies and that answered the question about the detailed records. From what Vader could gather about the girl, she had an extreme acumen for Politics, History and Economics. She was a naturally born Politician. Her father had hired the best tutors in the Galaxy for her schooling and taken her to the Capital many times for her to observe meetings. Bail Organa seemed to be grooming his daughter from Birth. The question was _what_ he was grooming her for.

Vader smelled a subversive activity.

But when it came time run a scan of the Princesses DNA against the Imperial Databank, he found something peculiar:

_Her genetic structure was the complete and total opposite to that of her parents. _

When he furthered the search and branched it off into the Old Republic Databases, he then found a match, two in particular. One of them came from someone who was enlisted in the Military, someone who had received the rank of General during the later half of the Clone Wars. The other came from someone who at the very least had worked high in the Government. The frustrating thing came next, when he went to look at the matches, they were both deleted with authority of the Emperor himself. He had worked long into the night, went through hundreds of barriers and solved the mystery of Princess Leia's roots only to find that the identity of the girl's real parents had been erased from the Databases by Emperor Palpatine himself. Needless to say, this posed a significant obstacle for him and a serious choice.

If he didn't tell the Emperor about this and choose to explore the girl's real lineage himself, he could stumble upon something that the Emperor obliviously wanted to hide. If he was caught, he'd be punished.

On the other hand, he could tell the Emperor and be punished anyway for digging this deep in files that the Emperor obviously wanted to keep hidden.

Either way, he was running the possibility of being caused pain.

So he made his choice then and there, he could explore the Princesses Lineage and he would find the truth that the Emperor was trying to hide from him.

And he knew just how to start.

**SWSWSWSWSW**

The Imperial Executive Building was abuzz with activity that next morning, with the orientation of the new Senators now completed, every single person with an agenda was lobbying for that agenda. Painfully unaware that their lobbing was futile, they just kept coming and coming. The only one in the new group of Senators that wasn't accepting appointments today was Leia Organa. That was the last piece of advice that her father had given her yesterday before he went back home, don't open your office up for lobbying.

"Senator you have a visitor," Her assistant said.

Leia scowled and looked up from her Datapad, "No visitors for today."

"Y-You don't understand Senator," Her assistant sounded frightened, "I'm afraid that I, nor you, have the power to dismiss this visitor."

Her deep brown eyes widened and looked up at the door of the spacious office that had served her father well for decades. Swallowing the lump in her throat she deactivated the pad, "Very well, can you tell me who it is?"

"The Lord Darth Vader," The assistant was frozen with fear.

Leia's eyes almost bugged out of her head, "S-Send him in."

**SWSWSWSWSW**

Honestly, this child was working in more opulence then Senator's three times her own age. It was in that moment that Darth Vader's hate of elected Politics grew to astronomical levels. It was because of that system that fifteen year old girls were allowed to come to Coruscant and serve as Senator for an entire Planet. It simply wasn't appropriate. However Vader couldn't dwell on it for too long, this confrontation with the Princess would need all of his concentration.

When he entered the office, he spied the girl sitting behind the desk that was five times as big as she was and he was hit was a flash of recognition. It made him growl inwardly, he must know why he recognized this girl, but it wouldn't be so easy. He would have to gain the girl's trust and he knew that feat would take a lot of time.

But he was willing to wait, as long as he got what he wanted in the end.

"Lord Vader," She said, Vader could tell that she was hiding a slight shake.

"What shall I address you as? Princess, Senator or your first name?" He inquired. Vader almost smirked, it must have seemed almost surreal to the girl to hear that come from him. He had to force himself not to laugh.

"Either three," Leia responded warily, "Take a seat, what can I do for you?"

Vader maneuvered himself to take a direct seat in front of the young Senator's Desk and promptly folded his arms across his wide chest. He took in the girl's face more closely before speaking. Last night, he had developed this brilliant explanation for his continued exposure to the Princess. As Commander and Chief of the Imperial Navy and Military, he was required to keep tabs on all branches of the Armed Forces. Every standard month, he was required to submit an audit to the Grand Admirals Circle and the Emperor himself. He decided that he would tell the Senator that the Emperor had requested him to do the Audit with a member of the Senate.

So this explanation wasn't exactly a lie, it was merely a half truth.

"Very well Senator," Vader began with what was the most detailed lie he had ever made up in his entire life, "I'm not sure if you have been brought up to speed on the internal workings of our Armed Forces, but every month we are required to submit an Audit. Actually, I'm required to submit an audit. Last night after a meeting with the General Staff and the Grand Admirals, the Emperor requested that I collaborate on the Audit with someone from the Legislative Branch of the Government."

He smirked when he saw the girl's face tighten, "And you want me…?"

"You're correct Senator," Vader nodded, "It is a very large project, it takes at least two standard weeks to complete. Before coming here, I did a check on your work habits and the people that I spoke with think very highly of you. So I'm here to request your assistance with the General Audit."

Leia sighed and looked down to her desk, "I suppose that I could join with you on the Audit of the Armed Forces. I'm relatively new at this position and perhaps working with on an Audit of the Military wouldn't be so bad."

Vader smiled, he knew what she was going to ask next. No one, no matter how good hearted they were, did something for nothing, with no sort of payoff, "However, I have ask, what would I get in return for assisting you?"

His next explanation wasn't exactly a lie either. He controlled the membership of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he could guarantee her a senior seat on it and he could come through, "Senator Vasserk, Majority Whip of the Senate Armed Services Committee will be retiring next month. As Commander and Chief of the Imperial Military, I have an extreme amount of pull of who get's promoted the leadership. If you assist me in the Audit, I guarantee you that position as SASC Majority Whip."

Leia's mouth turned upwards into a smile, "Lord Vader, we have a deal."

**SWSWSWSWSW**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So how is it? I appreciate all of the mail that I got with the suggestions and I would love for them to continue. If you would so inclined, review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was located deep inside the Imperial Palace and only those with the express consent of the Military High Command, Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine could enter it. It was arguably the Empires second biggest secret and though people did know of its existence, they only needed its location, which they would never get. Both Vader and the Emperor knew that leaks were always bound to happen, but they took care to keep the location a heavily guarded secret. They had to, it contained trillions of credits worth of items that the Empire had collected during the aftermath of the proclamation of the New Order and enough sensitive information to bring down the Empire in a blazing inferno. It was to be protected and guarded at all costs.

When the Emperor took control of the Government and ordered the Supreme Chancellor's Official Residence to become his own residence, he ordered a massive expansion project on the Palace. That included the addition of the Secure Depository which encompassed the bottom three levels of the Palace itself. It was originally going to be built on Byss, under the Emperor's private residence on that planet, but under a second consideration, the Imperial Palace was considered more secure, with good reason as well.

To the outside observer, the bottom three levels of the Imperial Palace were just ornately designed with odd architecture, but to someone who knew the secret, it was more than just odd designs. The external walls were fortified with five extra layers of duracrete, embedded in those thick layers of duracrete were the most powerful turrets that the Empire could find and the surrounding area around the three levels were littered with pressure sensors that would set off the turrets. To top off the external security, inside the depository was a powerful shield generator that protected it from orbital attack and scanning. That was at the request of the Emperor himself.

Inside, the vaults were guarded by a combination of the Imperial Guard and an elite group of Stormtrooper Commandos and an entire battalion was stationed in close proximity to defend the depository if needed. And the most irritating thing about the intense and harsh security was that the Emperor had established a policy that anyone with clearance, who needed to get into the depository, needed to withdrawal their needed items themselves. That's the only reason Vader ever came into the depository.

Whenever he needed some form of information, he would take the entire collection of Data from the corresponding year and if necessary, decade, and give it to his assistants to sort through. The security was necessary, he supposed. The Rebellion and their rabble would find some of the things in the depository very useful in achieving their final goal of bringing the Empire down. He supposed that he would suffer through it to keep the Empire safe.

Holding up a hand for the two aides carrying the two cases of Datapads to stop in front of his office, he turned, "Unload all of that information into my personal database and I'll comb through it myself for what I need. Otherwise, I want you to get back to censoring the Military Audit information. We wouldn't want the Senator to learn about of our secrets."

"Yes Lord Vader," They saluted and when Vader summoned the two cases of Datapads out of their hands, he turned and departed into his office. His staff had gotten well used to his personality and they all knew what to expect out of him. Vader almost never had problems with them and he often rewarded their obedience with pay raises, time off, things like that. It should have been obvious to them that he expected everything he wanted done, perfectly.

And they did all they could to oblige his requests.

**SWSWSWSWSW**

Pulling her hair back, Leia entered her office with a manner of urgency to all of her movements.

She had received a message saying that her father had to contact her at once and he wanted her to contact him on their personal line. There were only a few things that would constitute that, one of which she knew to never speak about outside of her office and only in trusted and well vetted friends of her father. The Princess was blissfully unaware that all communication and all of the offices of the Imperial Senators were bugged and that everything that came into the office, out of it and everything that transpired inside of it was being watched by Intelligence Analysts not far from the Senate Building itself. She was also unaware that special attention was being paid to her by the order of Lord Vader himself.

Activating the Holocom, she padded in the connection for her private line with her father and sure enough, the small holographic form of Bail Organa appeared on her desk. He looked worried, Leia didn't know, but he had indeed found out about Darth Vader's Proposal and that he sent him into a manic state. He could not allow her to be around that _'man' _more then she absolutely needed to. She didn't need to audit the Military, even Bail could see through that guise, Vader was up to something and his naïve little daughter couldn't see it, "What is it? I was in a meeting?"

"I've just heard about the opportunity given to you by Lord Vader," Bail said in the most diplomatic way he could, "I need to stress the point that you should avoid all contact with him, he is very bad news Leia and you could quite possibly be walking into a trap to pin something on you or me."

Leia sighed, "I can handle myself and I know when I'm being toyed with."

'_You apparently don't…' _He so desperately wanted to say, but he couldn't give away the real source of his fear, "Please, don't do it Leia."

"Father-…" Leia began, but she was cut off buy Bail and the tirade that he was now on.

"LEIA ORGANA, AS VICEROY OF ALDERAAN, FORMER SENATOR AND AS YOUR FATHER, I AM ORDERING YOU TO CEASE THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH VADER, IT CAN ONLY GIVE YOU TROUBLE AND YOU ARE TO BLINDED BY YOUR NAIVETY TO SEE IT," Bail raged, he hated whenever he had to raise his voice to her, but he was getting frustrated. He couldn't tell her the real truth, but he could try to steer her away from even accidently revealing that truth to Vader and discovering it herself, "LIKE IT OR NOT, SENATOR, YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER AND A MEMBER OF MY HOUSEHOLD AND-…"

She rubbed her forehead, "First of all father, while I may be your daughter and while you may be senior to me in the Royal Family, I am the Democratically Elected Senator of Alderaan, you have no power over me, you simply can advise me and I've listened to what you have to say, but I must respectfully tell you that I will go through with working on this Audit of the Military with Vader. Now, if you have anything else to say-…"

He shook his head, he had to force himself not to physically show the frustration on his face and the pure and unadulterated fear mingled in. He looked down to his feet and sighed deeply, "Very well… I suppose that I have no power to stop you, but remember a few things about Vader when you go in there. He is not to be trusted, he is the Emperor's Hound and his chief duty is sniffing out potential threats, do not trust him at all Leia."

Leia looked down at the desk and nodded, "I know that Father, as I've told you, I can take care of myself."

"Let us hope," Bail nodded, "I'll speak with you tomorrow dearest."

"I look forward to it father," Leia nodded and deactivated the Holocom.

On the other side of the now ended Holocom Conversation, Bail sagged. He felt helpless that his daughter was now exposed to her biological and very evil father. Bail knew Vader, he had known him when he gone by a different name and in that time, he knew Vader, Anakin or whatever his name was, to be very inquisitive and very smart. If they had prolonged contact, he would either figure it out through a conversation or just by looking at her face for an extended period of time. Leia looked remarkably look her biological Mother and if Vader was so enthralled with Padme as Anakin was, he would figure it out in no time at all. That was what worried him the most about prolonged contacted between the two.

But as things stood at the moment, he couldn't do a thing to stop it.

**SWSWSWSWSWSW**

"These look like lightsaber burns," Palpatine observed the datapad that his apprentice had handed him. Vader had gotten the right idea about tracking down the secret that this girl was hiding, but he had just hit a large obstacle. This frustrated Palpatine to no end, he wanted to know just as much as Vader did and it irked him that he had no idea where to go from here, "And you say that this pad came from the depository?"

Vader nodded, "The pad corresponds with the months that the Senator's Biological Parents submitted their DNA. All the files on it are corrupt and the information deleted in the Imperial Database, it looks as if I've hit a stopping point with tracking down her heritage with database research."

The Emperor's eyebrows rose in unison, "The information has been deleted?"

From behind his mask, a puzzled look came across Darth Vader's face, "Yes, it was deleted with your authority, and for some time now."

Palpatine's face turned from stoic, to surprise, to shock, to anger in a quick succession. Someone was going to die today by his hands for doing that, or if it was a spy, their supervisor or the unwitting idiot who permitted it would die that same painful death. Palpatine had only removed select things from the Imperial Database. The first was official transcripts with the Jedi that went against the image that he had painstakingly built around them since the New Order began and the last thing was his official sign off on authorizing the Death Star Project, nothing like this at all.

"I will deal with this issue," Palpatine handed the Datapad back to Vader, "I did not delete that, I will deal with the people responsible for this myself, but as for you, your chief duty is finding out the secret that this girl, or her father is hiding. I will handle the issue of the corrupted data."

Vader nodded, "Do you have any idea where to start?"

Palpatine looked at the datapad in Vader's hand and narrowed his eyes, no he didn't. However, there were things that he could do to attempt to find out. Palpatine wasn't as skilled in tracking someone down as his apprentice was, but he was no novice. He would find this person or the person responsible for allowing the spy into the depository and destroy them, "No, but I can assure you that I will find out soon, carry on Lord Vader."

The Dark Lord bowed to his master, "Master."

When Vader had left the confines of her throne room, Palpatine continued to stare at the space in front of the throne that his Apprentice had just occupied. He hadn't authorized DNA files to be deleted at any time. He used his authority to delete files about the Jedi that would portray them in a flattering light. This was very curious. With his hands tightening around the arm rests on his throne in anger, his head snapped to the right at one of his crimson robed bodyguards, "I want you to take a contingent of commandos, track down the people who filed data in that section of the Depository and bring them to me. I don't care if you have to scour the entire galaxy, bring them to me!"

The Guard bowed wordlessly and departed the room.

He would have his answers.

His most feared servants, short of Lord Vader and his Hand, Mara Jade, would get them for him.

**SWSWSWSWSWSW**

It had taken some work, but he was able to at least isolate the fact that the Princess's parents had their DNA taken on Coruscant before the Clone Wars had reached its height. It already affirmed what he knew. They had served in the Clone Wars. Vader had to suppress the urge to crush his office desk with the force, the last time he did that, he destroyed the entire office and it had taken a half a year to repair the damage. There were no other avenues other than to try and get it out of the Princess or to subtly pick her mind apart with the force, "Lord Vader, Senator Organa of Alderaan has just arrived in the docking bay. She's ready to begin work on the audit, shall I admit her?"

"Yes," Vader responded simply, "Allow her in."

Let the games begin.

**SWSWSWSWSWSW**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The Princess was quite striking when she walked through a door and she carried herself with the regality of her birth with every step that she took. He actually found himself standing when she walked through the precipice of the door and he didn't sit until she took a seat in the chair in front of his desk. Their opening pleasantries were, as Vader expected, stiff and forced, especially on the Princesses side. He could sense that there was something troubling the girl in the back of her mind, it was something that had to do with him, he was sure of that and though he knew how to read minds, he couldn't actually do it without attracting her attention. It frustrated him terribly that the secret was within his grasp, but he couldn't forcibly reach out and grab it like he usually did.

"How is your father? I trust that he's well?" Vader began rather timidly. The only reason that it was perceivable to the princess was because of his modulated and controlled voice.

"Yes, he's doing well, though I think he's not enjoying retirement from the Senate as he thought he would. He wasn't thrilled when he learned of your offer by the way," Leia responded with a smile as she picked up one of the Datapads that she had brought with her. It contained a draft of her itinerary for the duration of the audit and she needed to make sure that none of it clashed with their meetings, "I'm not the type to be ordered around, to make a long story short, when he ordered me to decline I told him that I didn't have to. I think that this will be an interesting experience."

Vader found himself smirking, despite the fact that the burnt skin around his lips caused a small shock of pain to shoot through him, "For as long as I've known Bail Organa, my opinion of him has always shifted. I first had the dubious pleasure of meeting him about six years before you were born and right before the height of the Clone Wars. He was arguably my wife's closest friend, and they co-sponsored literally dozens of pieces of legislation together. I always found him to be very idealistic, I would hate him one day and like him the next, but I always had to tolerate him for her."

"Your _wife_?" Leia asked, she was shocked, if there was one thing that she never imagined Darth Vader having, it was a wife.

A full-fledged smile appeared on Vader's face, safely hidden behind the confines of his mask. He loved to revel in his memories, "Oh yes, I had one …a very long time ago, granted it's only been sixteen years since she died but it seems like forever. She was born for a life as a Public Figure. She was actually Queen of her homeworld before she became Senator. I was just Jedi Apprentice who was once a Slave on Tatooine, and how she managed to fall in love with me and have me as her husband, I will never know. I-I'm sorry… I lost track of what we we're talking about."

Vader looked up and he was surprised to find that he had the Princess's full attention, her eyes were focused on him and there was a spark of a strange familiarity when he looked closely at brilliant colors in them, that same feeling that he had been feeling around the girl since her inauguration, "Well, we started talking about my Father and then somehow I started to hear the life story of the man that my governess used to scare me into eating my vegetables and getting to sleep at night. You've changed my perception of you in just a few short minutes, you're very much human."

"You'd be surprised with the idiocy that I have to endure every single moment of my life," Vader mused to himself, "Some people seem to think that I'm in fact not human but some droid."

"I have to confess that I thought that of you when I first heard of the fearsome Darth Vader and first saw your image, then I realized that if you were a droid, you'd have to be the most technologically advanced droid in the galaxy. I actually asked my father if you were a droid and he said that you weren't one, but you could hardly qualify as a human," Leia said as she picked up datapad back up, "But then I thought, he couldn't be all that bad, I never trust word of mouth about people, not even my fathers. You and I both know that you've done some terrifying things, but you can't be all that bad. Everyone has a heart, and you might have just unwittingly exposed yours to me, whatever shall you do?"

She was brilliantly well spoken, charismatic and uncannily… familiar. It was the perfect opening for the opening volley of his plan, "Princess… _Senator_, is it true that you're parents adopted you?"

Leia looked up at him puzzled by the change of topic, she was enjoying her conversation, but now she knew that it was getting serious, "Uhh… yes, yes they did, I mean I've always wanted to meet at least one of my birth parents, it sounds clichéd I know, but it's always been a dream. I found my birth records when I was eleven. I know my mother's name. No father was listed, very strange."

"No father, what kind of facility was it that wouldn't put the father's name on your birth records? Where were you born?" Vader asked.

"Polis Massa," Leia said absently, she was just about finished with comparing her itinerary with the set audit schedule, "My Mother's name was Padme Amidala or something, yes… Padme Amidala."

If the Princess could have heard the audible gasp that Vader let out, she would have known that the name she had just spoken was that of Vader's Wife. Outwardly, with the confines of his armor, it appeared as if he was simply taking in what she just said. How was this possible? Vader knew that the girl couldn't have known of his connection with her mother, any information that pointed to the fact that Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala were married was very rare and what was left of it had been destroyed by Vader himself. This girl, no… this woman in front of him eerily resembled her mother, and now the final piece of the mystery had been solved. It all made sense now, she was her mother's daughter, and Vader's obvious assumption was that this was his…

'_Daughter… my child…' _He knew the moment that Leia had revealed her mother's name, that the Senator was his child, but now it was really starting to hit him.

"Lord Vader, is something wrong?" Leia asked, she was suddenly concerned by the fact that he had just frozen. He hadn't moved an inch for two solid minutes.

For the first time in sixteen years, Vader had to struggle to find his voice, "I-I… I have a meeting that I completely forgot about, we'll have to pick this up again tomorrow, I do apologize."

"Its fine," She smiled and stood up, "This means that I have the rest of the day to myself, I've needed to catch up on my sleep anyway, I suppose I should have to thank you for this."

Vader nodded, "I expect to see you here tomorrow at this time, we'll begin looking over preliminary reports from the General Staff."

Leia nodded and stood, "Until then Lord Vader."

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSW**

Vader folded his arms over his chest and began to pace the length of the long panoramic window of his office. This office had been modeled after his master's office during the Clone Wars, at the Emperor's personal order. Perhaps it was to torture him with the memories that had he had of that office, Vader didn't know, but he had learned to ignore it all, years ago. He turned back to large view screen on desk and stared at the image on it, there was a side by side image of Padme and Leia. At the bottom of the photograph was a response for an inquiry he had issued to the Database shortly after the Senator… his _daughter_… had left. With both Leia and Padme's DNA in the Database, it was easy to run a comparison. Padme's DNA was a 50 percent match to Leia's DNA.

That meant that Leia's mother was indeed his late wife Padme.

And Vader had a very good guess on the identity of the person whose DNA provided the other half of Leia's DNA Structure.

"Lord Vader," His aide's voice came from the com receiver on his desk.

Turning his arm back, he used the Force to press the response button down, "What is it?"

"The Emperor is going off world, he'll be off world for at least two weeks," His aide reported, "He has to attend to something that his bodyguards have uncovered, he wanted me to inform you."

Vader contemplated that for a moment: he knew for a fact that the Emperor had ordered his Bodyguard contingent to find the former managers of the Depository and hunt down the reason for that damaged datapad. Those Bodyguards of his were not so ignorant and foolish as Vader had assumed. Their timing could not have been more perfect, he wouldn't have to worry about the Emperor poking his nose into this. It occurred to Vader that the Emperor lied about a number of things when it pertained to Padme and his unborn child and he didn't know if he would be able to contain his rising anger with the Emperor at that point. Maybe when the shock of this news faded slightly, he would be able to control himself, "Very good… and can you inform the Medical Centre that I coming in?"

"Of course, what for?" The woman asked.

"Blood test," He used the force to deactivate the screen, "A DNA test as well."

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

This facility was once the Republic's Central Coruscanti Medical Centre and during and before the Clone Wars, it had been the best Healthcare Facility on the planet and had been one of the top in the entire galaxy. That was before the Empire replaced the Republic and restricted its use to the internal leadership of the Empire, where before anyone who could pay the medical fee. Their exclusive patients were the Emperor, Darth Vader, the Emperor's twelve Grand Admirals, the Moff Council, heads of Departments and a select group of Senators that the Emperor allowed used of it.

The official capacity of the building was slightly under 12,000 beings, but at any given time, there were no more than dozen people in it. That was stark proof of the changes that the Emperor had instituted, at one time before the New Order, there was always 10,000 people in it at any given moment. Now its express purpose was to keep the leaders and figureheads within the Government, healthy and living. The beings and droids that worked inside the Hospital did their jobs and they did their jobs well.

"Lord Vader," A droid told him as it came into the room where he was waiting, "You ordered a blood test and a DNA test against another subject?"

Vader nodded to the incredibly sophisticated droid, "That is correct."

"Who is the other subject?" The droid asked curiously.

The Dark Lord held up a hand, "That is my business, you will feed my DNA into the terminal and I will run the search myself, you will no questions."

"Yes Lord Vader," The droid replied, "I will return shortly."

Vader huffed inwardly as the droid left.

All he had to do was get a sample of his blood drawn, compare it to Leia's DNA, which she had given a sample of upon becoming Senator and he would have his answers. What was going to happen after that? What would be his next move? He had two weeks until the Emperor would return to the planet and Vader knew that he had to be very careful and be very meticulous with this entire situation. Vader knew that he was running the risk of being caught anyway, but if he approached this all just right, it wouldn't happen.

The only question was where did he begin to do this carefully?

For the first time in a very long time, he did not have the faintest idea on how to do something. This wasn't tracking down, hunting and killing an enemy, it was his child, Padme's child as well. This was something that he wasn't accustomed to and to be frank, it scared him. It scared the kriff out of him, but he would push through until the end.

He was Sith, he had no fear.

Vader shook his head firmly, that's right. He would approach this without fear, despite the fact that the biggest emotion in him at the time was indeed fear.

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW **

The inhabitants of this backwater little planet owed this man a grand favor. Thanks to his foolish actions and his inability to cover up the tracks that he had made, the Emperor of the Galactic Empire was paying him a visit, directly to his home. Sure, the man had already been placed under house arrest, his financials and valuables confiscated and seized, and his family threatened with death, but he should feel honored to have the Emperor grace his home with his presence.

When the robed man finally made it into the home, he made a motion with his free hand which sent the cowering man to his knees and hands with the power of the force. The Emperor's thin lips cracked into a smile as he spied a comfortable chair and made his way slowly to it and sat down, "Mr. Rall, I have to speak with you."

"Your Imperial Majesty," He groveled, there was an invisible force holding him down and the pain in his lower back was making tears well up in his eyes, "Y-Your most Gracious Majesty, I devoted all of my working life to you, first as Chancellor and then Emperor. Whatever I have done, I beg you to show mercy on me. I live to serve you."

Palpatine raised an eyebrow, "Really? All of your working life devoted to me?"

He turned and accepted a datapad from one of his bodyguards. When they were briefing him on this man, they pointed out something that caught his eye. This man had been the director of the Republican Depository of Information, the previous incarnation of the larger, grander Imperial Depository. He was a known close associate of the former Senators from Naboo, Alderaan and Chandrila, Padme Amidala, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, which in itself smelled of treason to Palpatine, but it was the next piece of information that clenched it.

From his promotion to director of the depository to his retirement, his set salary was 100,000 Credits a year. His bodyguards, who didn't leave anything unturned, tracked his financials throughout that period and there was a two year period where his income spiked to over 1,000,000 Credits. There were no raises that he ever received and when they tracked down the source of the 1,000,000 Credits, they found that it came from one source: a private account from a bank on Courscant that was registered to the Royal Family of Alderaan. That was a clear indication of treason.

"Yes, expressly devoted, even in retirement," He pleaded.

"Very well," The Emperor activated the pad and scrolled through it, "Then explain this to me, in the final year of the war with the Separatists, your income went from 100,000 Credits, to 1.1 Million Credits. How exactly did you acquire that money?"

The former director's face blanched, "W-Well, I sold a few valuable things."

"Really? And did the Royal Family of Alderaan buy them from you?" He asked dryly.

His eyes widened, "H-how did you know?"

"I know many things Director Rall, I know that no one but you could have allowed anyone into the depository, and I know that you received 1,000,000 Credits for two years from the Royal House of Alderaan the same month and year that a critical piece of information was corrupted," The Emperor stood from his chair and with arched fingers, sent a bolt of electricity towards the man, "You'll tell me everything that I want to know now, or I will reek unforgettable harm upon you, little fool."

**SWSWSWSWSW**

**AN:/ This wasn't my best effort, I will admit that, but I'm going through some major changes in my life right now, so forgive me. **


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

Vader stared at the copy of his and Leia's genetic structure as they were overlapped. He blinked once and then blinked again. When Leia had told him that name of her mother, he knew that this was going to happen, but to see clear evidence of it was astounding. He found that he know words, no words whatsoever and that wouldn't change for a very long time. He grasped his chest at the sudden feeling of his heart pounding wildly. This was his child, his daughter, the child that Padme was carrying when she died. The child that had been kept away from him, the child that he was led to believe that had died.

Now he was able to formulate noise from his mouth and in a distinctly uncharacteristic string of expletives, Vader swore that he would teach the people who kept his children from him a lesson that they would never, ever forget. Perhaps it would be the last lesson that they would ever learn before Vader crushed their neck with his bare hands, "Lord Vader, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," He growled and stomped the exit, "Delete that record droid, no one is to know about this, do you understand me? I want no record of this."

The droid made an affirming sound with its artificial voice, "Yes Lord Vader."

He didn't know what to do now, for the first time in a very long time, he was feeling useless. He was so overcome with the revelation of Leia being his daughter, he had forgotten that there were a hundred things that he could be doing. Vader didn't care anymore. He didn't give half a damn about the responsibilities he had to attend to. He needed to unravel this entire conspiracy to keep him from his child and he needed to do it now until someone else did it. When he meant someone else, he meant the Emperor. The Emperor would destroy his daughter, if not physically, then all other senses of the word and he could not allow that to happen. He could not allow Leia to be ensnared by that man, the man that had utterly destroyed his life.

Vader amended that, in hindsight, he supposed that he destroyed his own life, the Emperor merely gave him the final push.

He would not allow Leia to be subject to the same things that he had.

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW**

As his fingers danced over the keypad on the terminal, Vader was silently fuming.

On his trip back to the Imperial Palace, he had begun to think of the possible avenues he could explore to find the fools that hid his child from him. He assumed he could start at two places, Polis Massa or Bail Organa. Ultimately he would pay a visit to both, but the question was simple, who would he visit first? And how would his daughter react to him killing the man who had the undeserved honor of raising her. Perhaps it was best if she found out. Yes, Vader nodded once as he watched the holocom connect. He wanted to tell her this and no one else, "Admiral Ozzel? Is my ship ready for departure?"

"Yes," Admiral Ozzel bowed at his waist, "We are prepared to leave at anytime."

"Prepare a course for Polis Massa," Vader ordered, "We're going to leave tonight."

Ozzel nodded, "We'll be ready when you arrive, My Lord."

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW**

When she was awoken in the middle of the night with a stormtrooper contingent at her door, Leia had been both furious and frightened. However, when they explained why they were barging in on her sleep, Leia was simply curious. They had told her that Lord Vader had commanded them to fetch her from her apartment and take her to his Star Destroyer once she was packed. Apparently Vader had also secured her a few days off from the Senate. She was perfectly fine with that, but she was getting agitated.

She wanted to know why the hell she was being taken off of the Capital World.

Leia had never been inside of a Star Destroyer before. She had always been told that they were cold and stripped down to the bare necessities. But the suite that she had been ushered too was anything but that. It was lavish in every sense of the word and Leia got the feeling that it had all been installed recently, "Senator Organa?"

Leia frowned and found the receiving button on the control panel on the desk, "What?"

"Lord Vader is here to speak with you," The voice of the Stormtrooper responded.

"Send him in," She said, oh she wanted some answers and she was going to get them right now. She thought that she and Vader developed some sort of dialogue in their meetings, had she done something wrong? Where in the hell was he taking her?

She turned and folded her arms over her chest as Vader entered her suite. She noticed that he was holding a few datapads in his hand. Raising an eyebrow, she put on her best angry glare, "What is the meaning of this Lord Vader? Why did you take me fr-…"

"We're taking a little trip, you and I," He told her and he walked forward to toss the datapads onto her bed, "If you read those, you'll find your answers, contact me when you finish them and only when you finish them, I've ordered the mess hall to bring you your food if you get hungry. Other than that, I suggest that you read those datapads."

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW**

Was he actually shaking?

He had compiled everything he could on himself and Leia's mother and he had just delivered it to her personally. Vader made good on his promise that he would be the one to deliver the news to Leia. He had put everything on those two pads, the holorecording of his wedding, his marriage certificate, pictures of Padme and himself throughout their marriage and the test that confirmed that Padme was pregnant.

The second pad had a little bit more depth to it. It contained the medical records and the recording of the droids putting his armor onto him after his duel with Kenobi on Mustafar. It also contained the one copy of the medical report that he had received at the Medical Centre from the DNA comparison with Leia. If Leia was anything like Padme, he knew that was the last piece of evidence to seal her belief.

He only hoped that his daughter was exactly like her mother, or this wouldn't work.

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW**

Leia stared at the holographic image in front of her. She knew how to read things like this and there was no denying that her DNA structure and Vader's DNA structure were very similar. She had gone through the images. She had gone through the recordings and as almost life altering as they were: this last piece of information _clenched_ it. She couldn't believe this, she couldn't believe it at all, but here it was, staring her in the face. It was an exact fifty percent match, the markers matching that to a father to a daughter. That meant that… Darth Vader, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military and feared enforcer to the Galactic Emperor was her-…

"…Father," She whispered in unbridled shock.

She was the child of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, she knew that Padme Amidala was dead, but she had never known her father's name. Leia never imagined that her father, her biological father, was both a legendary Jedi Knight and perhaps the second most feared man in the Galaxy, second the Emperor himself. Yes, she had heard the exploits of Anakin Skywalker from her tutors. Her adoptive father had expressly forbid anymore discussion about him in her lessons and now she understood why. That legend had been her father, and if you could dig a little deeper, Darth Vader.

This also answered why her adoptive father had been so enraged to find out that she was having correspondence with him. All of this made a steady anger rise from within her. This web of lies that had been spun to keep her from her father, there were many people to blame, but she needed to know one thing, how much did Vader know?

Leia stood up from the chair and rushed to the door.

She immediately turned to her right and to one of the guards at her door.

"Take me to Lord Vader," She growled, "_Now_!"


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

Vader stared stoically out of the viewport as the ship went into hyperspace. The Star Destroyer was at his use at all hours and it was an unwritten rule that the crew had to be ready by the time he stepped onboard the ship or there would be hell to pay. In all of these years, he had never had to reprimand them. That was one of the many amenities that he has as Supreme Commander of the Military, people aimed to the please him and give him the best crews in the Fleet, that was the one luxury that the Emperor could not control. Though, the General Staff did have control over which officers they placed onboard the ships and perhaps that why they gave him Admiral Ozzel. The fact that Ozzel had been promoted to Admiral still astounded him and he swore that if he were ever to assume policy control over the Imperial Military, he would tightened the prerequisites and then only the best of the best could join the Military.

The plan was simple, they would go into hyperspace, and meet up with the rest of Vader's Fleet on their way to Polis Massa. When they got there, Vader would go into the almost legendary Medical Facility and _convince_ them to show him their records and if they did not, he would simply tell them that he would subjugate their population and socialize their facility. If that did not sway them, he would order three battalions of Stormtroopers to flood the facility and to ransack their databases and he would get what he needed then. Normally, he would be a little bit more tactful and perhaps pressure them to give him what he wanted, but he didn't, to you a scientific term, give half a damn at this point. He would get what he wanted and he would use anything to get it from them.

"Alert me when we get to meeting point with the rest of the fleet," Vader barked as he turned and made his way off of the Bridge.

All he wanted now was to try and sleep, try was the key word. When it came to sleep, he didn't have all that luck with it. He was fortunate to get at least three hours of sleep on any given night and he could operate on that. However, every now and then he would go to the Medical Centre and force them to sedate him into sleep so he could get an honest amount of sleep. It was not at all healthy, but it was the only way he had found he could get more than three hours of sleep. Shaking his head in frustration, he spied the entrance to his quarters and headed as fast as he could towards them. He needed rest, he craved it and at the very least, he needed to rest bones. However, he knew that he wouldn't get the chance the moment he stepped into the expansive quarters.

Standing at the large viewport that was located on the side of the room nearest to space was Leia. The young woman had her back to him and her hands were folded behind her back in a diplomatic stance. He could see it now, he hadn't noticed it before, but she was the image of her mother when she was in the form of a diplomat. He didn't know what to say, he was rendered speechless by her sudden surprise. He simply walked further into the quarters and approached his hyperbaric chamber to being the unlocking sequence, "I assume you read the datapads that I gave to you?"

"Yes I did," Leia answered back with a tense undertone in her voice, "I only have a few questions for you."

"Ask, and I will answer," He told her simply, now abandoning his need to get into the chamber.

She turned to him and the look on her face could only be described as ferocious, "Did you know about this, did you have any inclination of this before I was sworn into the Senate?"

"No," Vader shook his head, "I had been told that you had died with your mother, I would have never dreamed of your survival. If I had known, I wouldn't have let Organa have you."

Leia turned and her voice was a bitter hiss, "Where were you, Why did him have the chance to take me?"

"That's a complicated story," He told her, "Perhaps I will tell you another time, but rest assured, I wasn't able to get you, I didn't even know that your mother have given birth to you."

Leia sighed and turned back to the viewport, "Where are we going?"

"Polis Massa, and then we're going to Alderaan," Vader answered, he let the anger at the mention of Alderaan into his voice.

"Good," She said simply, "I want answers, just as much as you do."

"I plan on getting them," Vader said, "And I will get them, no matter what stands in my way?"

She turned back to her… father… it still sounded stranger in her own mind, "What will happen if you encounter resistance?"

"Then they'll have to contend with the most powerful Military the galaxy has ever seen," Vader reasoned with her.

And for the first time in her life, at the threat of Military action against people who were seemingly innocent, Leia didn't care. She didn't care if Vader was going to threaten the entirely passive Polis Massa or the only family and world that she had ever known. This web that had been built against her and her father was so deep, she knew that only the Imperial Navy would be able to get it out of these people. She turned and her expression was stoic, "I think this is the very first time that I don't really care if the Military throws their weight around, it might prove to be very useful."

"You will find that the convoluted notion of peace is impossible to find, there will always be war, somewhere," He told her, surprisingly gently, "Under threat, people give you what you want."

"I hope that you're right," Leia said softly.

"I want Bail Organa watched very closely," The Emperor ordered as his guards picked up the now _late_ directors body, "You put a silent flag on everything that has his name on it. If he goes off world, I want to know where he's going and where he's staying and who's hosting him, if he or any members of his wretched family moves money or buys something, I want to know what and what for. You follow them, you place more spies into their inner circle, I want his every move watched. I want it all recorded and categorized, he shouldn't be able to blink without me knowing it."

The bodyguard bowed and turned to leave the room and the Emperor to his brooding. For all the cunning and manipulation that he had to exert over the Galaxy to become Emperor, he did not count on the fact of the Senate and the Court of Public Opinion. He knew that the Senate couldn't exert anything over him, but the people that they 'represented' could, but in a different sort of way. General unrest was poison, it was instability. Instability meant many things, but it also meant a threat and the only way to combat this threat was to supplant the people. For now, until he could destroy planets at a whim.

And that was coming very soon and when that happened, he would do away with those constraints and exercise full control over the Galaxy once his special project was completed. Until then, he would have to bide his time.

**SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW**

"You will not defy us," Vader warned General Director of the Polis Massa Medical Facility, "I am the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy and if you do not give us a copy of the your entire library spanning back more than 20 Years, I will land my ground forces, overwhelm your facility, get the records and once my troops are back on our ships, I'll reduce your asteroid to finely grated dust and whatever's left of your population will be subjugated to the deepest pit that is in this Empire, understand that?"

Leia now understood how her father had garnered his reputation across the Galaxy. He was utterly ruthless in his words and actions and he didn't seem to care who he spoke that way to other then the Emperor himself. If that was out of respect or fear, Leia didn't know. There was something in her that was awakened by his presence. It was something that she felt was very similar to her father's attitude. It was the philosophy of _'the ends justify the means'_ and somehow she felt that it was correct around him. Something contrary to what her adoptive father had taught her entire life. Leia, in that moment, did not give a damn about Bail Organa. She was only concerned with her real father at this point now, and the secrets hidden from the both of them.

"You cannot do that Lord Vader, only with written decree from the Imperial Senate, we are not members of your Empire and as such, it takes a recommendation from your legislative branch and acceptance from our leader to give you a copy of the record library," The General Director replied sternly.

"The Imperial Senate is immaterial, you know that, I know that," Leia said, stepping into field, she was standing next to her father and it was strange, but the adopted similar postures, "I can assure you, there are twenty-five Imperial Star Destroyers and all the complements of fighters and troops available with them headed your way. Your policy of not joining the Empire will not save you from this. I can assure you that the Empire will have those records, now unless you wish your population to be promptly subjugated, I do suggest that you merely hand over the records."

"Senator Organa? I cannot believe that you would be participating in this travesty of justice!" The General Director was stunned by her words.

"I'm an Imperial Senator, I represent the interests of my planet and of the Empire itself and that's what I'm doing," Leia responded.

The General Director narrowed his eyes, "The Dear Leader respects you, we will confer with him, you will have your answer within the hour."

"That's all we ask," She told him with a kind smile before the hologram of the General Director of the Facility disappeared.

"You are so very much like your mother," Vader said, still looking at the holopad, "She believed in something of a vicious diplomacy."

Leia's face blanched at that, "Am I now?"

"More then you know," He told her, almost fondly before turning back to his chamber, "Now, I have something to show you that you'll want to see."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The whole idea of autonomy for certain regions in the galaxy was a guise, but it was one that he had to play in for the moment. Until the Emperor could consolidate enough power and find a way to maintain his grip on the regions without the Imperial Senate. He almost said these things to Leia, but a part of him was sure that she knew them and the other part was sure to keep some things from her. Vader wanted to trust her, he really did, but he was not completely sure where her loyalties were. That bastard Organa, or him and he was willing to bet the entire Imperial Fleet that a slim majority still was with the former Senator, "Isn't the entire galaxy under de-facto Imperial Control?"

"Parts of it," Vader nodded, as a smile came over his face, perhaps she was Force Sensitive, "But for the moment, the Empire is allowing certain regions in the Galaxy autonomy in exchange for Economic use."

She smiled impishly, "How have I not heard about this? I mean I've been a Senator for only over a day, but I expected to hear something like that upon taking office."

"You did not seriously think that the Emperor would allow that information to the Senate," Vader responded, "The Charter of the New Order allows the Emperor that privilege to keep information hidden."

"Should I feel honored that I've been let in on the big secret?" She asked dryly and took a sip of the Caf that she had in her hand, "Wait don't answer that question. You'll have to kill me if I ask anymore."

"No," he began, "But believe me when I tell you this, they'd have to get through me to get to you, and I can assure you that I will come out on top."

Leia snorted and looked up to him and smiled, she was still getting past the fact that the man was her father, her biological father. When she was younger, she would often dream about what the man would be like: a hero, roving the galaxy, stopping the bad guys at every turn. She never expected, not in her wildest dreams, that her father was indeed one of those bad guys. In fact he was second in-command of the bad guys in existence, "You know, when I was young, I imagined that my father was some sort of hero that went around the Galaxy helping people, and if I'm familiar with my History, you were once that, but I never imagined that you were also really one of the head bad guys."

"It all depends on your conception of the word bad," Vader reasoned with her, "Is it so bad that at one time, I needed to rid the galaxy of a force that I felt was an evil in the Galaxy."

She raised an eyebrow, "What if you were wrong? What if you were simply the tool of the evil in the Galaxy? Wasn't Palpatine elected before he declared himself Emperor and tightened his grip on the Galaxy?"

"You have a point Senator," He nodded, he didn't like to admit his own failings but the child had a sharp wit about her and he was treading carefully with his responses, "But my master brought peace and stability to the Galaxy."

Leia crinkled her nose in disgust, "The Jedi did that, Palpatine played politics while the Jedi were out leading the fight against the Separatist forces."

"I suggest that we end this line of conversation in our present company," He motioned to around the bridge and spoke to her in a hushed tone, "You may not know who would be listening or watching."

From the reports of the _organization_ that her adoptive father and a few of his former Senatorial Associates founded, the Imperials had put a policy in place of placing incredibly loyal spies on the ships to root out the spies that the Rebellion had put on the fleets of Star Destroyers and highly valuable planets in the Imperial High Command. It was even suggested that these Imperial Spies served as something of an Internal Affairs organization to root out any dissatisfaction with the Emperor or Vader. If one officer of Stormtrooper made a derogatory comment about them or the Imperial Government in any way, they'd be arrested and never seen again. She realized that her father was wise in prohibiting their discussion of this subject on the Bridge. Leia was simply beginning her relationship with Vader and so far, the worse it had gotten was a few tense words, other than that, it hadn't been anything but great.

She nodded sagely and folded her arms over her chest and looked out the viewport, "How long until we reach Polis Massa?"

"A few hours," Vader answered with a nod, "The rest of my fleet will join our Hyperspace Vector once we reach the meeting point and we will continue on to the Medical Facility."

Leia was exhausted, she was tired and she finally felt that it was hitting her. She was not only exhausted physically but very much mentally and for the obvious reasons, "I'll be in my quarters getting some rest."

He turned to her, "I'll awake you if I need to speak with you and if by some chance that doesn't happen, I'll alert you when we arrive at the medical facility."

* * *

><p>Palpatine smiled as the sun hit his face.<p>

His home world always brought a sense of relaxation deep from within him sense he had declared the existence of the Empire, granted it did that before and during the Clone Wars as well, but since he had done away with the Naboo Monarchy, things had gotten so much better. He held this planet in reverence above all others, even Coruscant. Perhaps it was a bit of foolish sentimentality, their willingness to accept his Jedi Extermination Policy and his Empire, their revolution that had ended the thousands upon thousands of years of absolute rule by a Monarch, or the fact that he was born and raised here. Either way, he let the people of Naboo live their own lives and he even made sure that this planet was well stocked and defended, so long as they remained loyal to him and they hadn't failed so far. It was from here that he would coordinate this investigation into what Bail Organa was hiding from him.

So far, his personal guard hadn't found anything but the trail of Credits from Organa to the former director of the Depository and because of that, his patience was running dangerously thin.

He was this close to ordering his Intelligence Services to get involved with this.

But he had another weapon to use before he exposed this potential conspiracy to even more people.

His left hand, his alternative weapon as oppose to Vader who was his right hand and his primary weapon.

Mara Jade.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"I need you to find this information at any cost, pursue it to the ends of the galaxy and when you've found out as much as you could, you will return to me and report what you have found," The Emperor commanded the young woman who was currently kneeling at the base of his throne, "I've secured an account of 5,000,000 Credits to finance this quest, you have my permission to any force possible to find out what Organa is hiding. Kill anyone who stands in your way and if you are caught, you are to use the standard explanation. Thought I highly doubt that the Alderaan Security Force as whole will be able to capture you, do you understand all of my orders and conditions Mara Jade?"

The young woman nodded and stood with the prim posture that years in the Imperial Palace had conveyed upon her. She was a beautiful girl with flowing red hair and bright green eyes, but behind that outward stunning beauty was a killer. She was not your ordinary killer; she was a professional assassin and spy and second only to Lord Vader and the Emperor himself in terms of the most powerful people in the galaxy. She always got her target, always, she never failed and she wouldn't fail in this. Getting into the Royal Palace on Alderaan seemed easy enough, but she would have to take care to gain the trust to the Palace Officials before she found what she was looking for. She offered her master and indulging smile and bowed, "I understand Master, and I will not return until I find the information that you require, but may I ask, do I have permission to extract the information from Organa if I feel the need to?"

Palpatine seemed to contemplate this for a moment before he shook his head, "No, he is to remain unharmed and unaware that we are watching him, you are to use uttermost stealth in this mission, is that clear?"

Jade bowed again, "Yes Master."

"Good," He turned and looked outside the window the darkened Naboo Landscape, "You may go now."

Mara nodded once and turned to leave the Throne Room, she had learned long ago to keep her thoughts guarded in his presence and that's why she neither thought anything of his orders nor showed any visible reaction to them. It was only when she was alone could she react. How the hell was she supposed to do this? She had long employed torture to get information from targets, but this was one of the few times that she was forbidden to do it. Organa couldn't be touched, so she would have to find some other way to get her hands on this information. That was easier said than done and even though she was already formulating a plan on her way to the hanger bay of the Palace, she had serious doubts of doing this fast and mess-free. Someone would get hurt, someone would die and someone would have to betray Organa, she knew that and before she could put anything into action, she had to scope those people out and convince them to get into the proper roles. All of this would take time and that ruin her efficiency rate, but seeing as she was the only one keeping track of it, the Emperor wouldn't notice.

Perhaps it wouldn't matter if she took some time with this: she would need time and care anyway to get past the intense security that was around the Royal Family of Alderaan. Regardless of the obstacles, she would always get what she wanted and needed to please her master, nothing could or even would stop her from accomplishing this goal, absolutely nothing at all.

**OOOO **

Your average Stormtrooper wasn't much of a threat, the only threating thing about them was their blaster and that wasn't so much of a threat if they didn't know to aim it, which most of them seemed to lack that crucial ability in a Soldier. However, when you had massive amounts of them, they were very dangerous. The stray blaster bolts could rack up some serious damage in groups of hundreds. Lord Vader knew this and that's why he had changed official Imperial Military Invasion Policy to fit that little thought.

Land as many troops as possible, having the numbers on your side was imperative. Outnumber the enemy and use your advantage to the fullest.

He had been so used to the proficiency and the agility of the Clone Troopers that it had taken him a few years to realize that the Stormtrooper Army that he commanded was terrible compared to them. He had only wished that the Empire had managed to get the plans from the Cloners on Kamino before they destroyed all of them. That was the reason that they had the Stormtroopers in the first place, but to the public, it was meant to signal the Empire somehow believed in the proficiency of the common man. In reality, the Empire was well aware of the liability of recruiting common people, it's because they were _common_ and if they had their choice, they would have the men that were engineered to be Soldiers and killers.

But they only had inept common people and he'd have to live with it.

"Report," Vader barked at the Commanding Bridge Officer.

"We're entering the Polis Massa Perimeter," Captain Ozzel said, stepping up behind Vader and looking down to a datapad, "I've given orders for the Gravity Well Generators to be brought online and for us to begin landing our ground forces as you ordered previously Lord Vader, anything else?"

Vader shook his head, "No, carry on Captain."

He looked out the viewport at the approaching Asteroid Cluster and began to wonder what he would find there. It was the secret that the Jedi and Bail Organa had kept from him all of these years and the secret that the Emperor was either complacent in or knew about as well. He had found his child, he was only bothering with this for two reasons, to find out the whole story and to find out who he had to hunt down and kill.

"Captain Ozzel, send down an extraction team and a battalion of commandos, tell them to copy every record within the past thirty years, tell them to focus on pregnancy cases," Vader commanded stoically with his massive arms over his chest, "Kill anyone who resists or stands in their way."

Vader always got what he wanted.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

Leia knew, she just knew that her father wasn't going to wait around for the decision from the Dear Leader of the Polis Massa, he was going to go in with blaster firing until he got that information and for the first time her life, Leia didn't care if violence was used or not. She had always been a peaceful person, always looking for the other solution, the alternative to fighting, but in this case, she not only didn't care that violence was being used: she could say that she supported the idea. This information had been kept from her and her father and whoever hid it was bent on making it as hard as possible for them to find – Leia now believed that at the point of blaster barrel was the only way.

She pitied them almost, all she and her father wanted was information and through their resistance, they were going to be killed.

"Do not pity them Leia – all who resist my will, as well as that of the Empire will meet the same fate," Vader told her and surprisingly, it sounded soft, "My entire life, I always had the disposition of wanting things that other people didn't want me to have, I wasn't even allowed to be with your mother, but for years I made it work, and I made the situation bend to my will and my desires. Remember something – nothing is out of reach and nothing is impossible."

If she had been this conversation just a week ago, she might have been thoroughly disgusted it with, especially the opening words, but now it was different. Now Leia was willing to accept and willing to understand what her father said and what her adopted father had labeled her entire life as _'propaganda' _from the Empire. In fact, the more she stood at the viewport in her chambers, the more she understood the validity behind what Vader was telling her. Nothing was impossible, nothing – she would have thought it impossible for Darth Vader to be her father, she would have thought it impossible for her adopted father to continue in his cruel lie, "I don't pity, I just wonder how any given being in the Galaxy could be so stupid, all we want is the information, all that they need to do is give it to us and we'll leave. They're forcing their own deaths to protect something that is apparently that valuable to them, it's idiotic."

"The Polis Massa are incredibly loyal, it is well known that they are willing to die to protect those whom they consider their friends," Vader told her, "That brings to mind another question, who were the their friends."

Contemplating his words, she realized something, something that she hadn't realized before, something that she had overlooked. With her newly found tolerance for violence in this situation, she forgot about the use of the man who was standing right behind her. In the galaxy at large, when you thought of fear, when you thought of intimidation, you thought of Darth Vader, when you thought of intimidation, you thought of Darth Vader. Her next few thoughts had were not completely alien to her, they were standard Imperial Invasion tactics. All you had to was capture the leader and make them grovel and they would be yours, they would show you the backdoor to their mother's house.

"You're Darth Vader," She smiled slightly, "You want information, all you have to do is be in a room with their Dear Leader and he'll talk, I can guarantee you that."

The smile on his face was so wide that it was beginning to hurt, the girl was learning quickly and being in his presence must have been doing something to her. From what he could ascertain about this girl in his background checks on her, she was very diplomatic, always going the route of the diplomat to get what she wanted, and for her to suggest such a cutthroat method, this early in their relationship made him feel pleased with himself. Not to mention her suggestion – it was something that he would normally have come up with. Why didn't he think about doing that himself.

He fully intended for his legion of Elite Commandos to go into the facility and for them to do what they do – he intended for them to bring the information to him, but he liked the sound of Leia's plan already.

"I must say, I'm impressed," Vader complemented her, his mask suppressing the amusement and warmth he had for the girl, "Do you want to be involved in his."

"What? You have your hand around his throat and come in and kick him?" Leia suppressed a snort at the image.

Vader was sorry that his daughter couldn't hear the slight chuckle that he let out, "If that is your wish, but if you are going to be involved in this interrogation, meet me in the Hanger Bay in a half hour."

When she turned and heard Vader leave the room, she started out at the asteroid behind her and idly pondered something, was she really willing to go down this path, a path that she had been taught to abhor her entire life.

'_You've been lied to your entire life, and this being has the only information that could lead to you discovering the plot to keep you away from your father,' _A voice inside her head told her.

If she couldn't listen to herself, who could she listen too?

* * *

><p>"Once through the outer security grid," Stormtrooper Commando Captain Jorgoth began around a holographic map of the Polis Massa Medical Facility, "We can access the central ventilation system and flood all of the chambers with a paralytic agent that will leave all in the room immobile for twenty minutes. That will be enough time to destroy the blast door, storm the chambers, destroy all resistance, capture their leader and that is where Lord Vader comes in."<p>

There was a reason that Vader and only Vader had these men in his fleet, they were elite, they were smart and they planned things as they killed, efficiently, "What are you going to do when the pathogen wears off?"

Vader turned his head to his daughter who asked the question, thank the force that they were alone or he might have been embarrassed by the situation, "Well Senator, they'll have to submit, or we will be forced to-…"

"Eliminate them," Vader finished for the Captain.

The Captain nodded and for a split second Vader felt something in the man that made him angry, very angry and it was for the sake of his daughter that the Commando Captain was alive, "T-That's right Senator."

Vader surmised that if the trooper didn't have a helmet on, he'd be blushing like a little school boy.

"I think that's enough of your report Captain," Vader growled and motioned for his daughter, "Be prepared to leave in twenty minutes."

He wasn't ready for this aspect of fatherhood yet, Vader could hardly say that he was ever ready for fatherhood, but now that it had been placed upon him by the Force, he wasn't ready to open this door yet.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

Rifles charged and ready, boots hitting the floor, they were the best for a reason and Darth Vader completely entrusted them to do their duty. Their duty at that point in time was to secure the Medical Facility, capture its leader and interrogate him until he released the location and the security code for the Secure Records Depository. Vader had forgotten about the Depository – after the Empire was declared, the Polis Massa had decided to construct a vault that would house all of their records for the past five decades. The catch to that was they didn't reveal the location to any other Government, and especially to the Imperial Government.

He remembered that – he remembered having an issue with it and he remembered speaking to his master about it, but at the time, there was nothing that they could do about it. This time was different however, he had the authority and the prerogative to blow the accursed asteroid into vapor if he wanted to, but he wanted nothing of the sort now. He was going to do everything he could to find that Records Depository, which meant that Vader would have to deal unforgettable harm upon the Leader of the Polis Massa.

"This is gold squad approaching direct front," The Gold Captain reported into the inter-squadron communication band.

Vader folded his arms around his chest and watched the live feed from the transmitters that were embedded in his Commandos Helmets. These men spent most of their professional lives in training that he had personally written and he found that they followed it down to the letter. Ruthless efficiency, cut throat and rough style, take no prisoners unless told to before. He was counting on them to level whatever pathetic excuse of defense that the aliens could mount and to get to the Director as fast as they could.

"Green Squad, entering from west entrance," Green Captain reported, he sounded as if he was keeping his voice down.

"Red Squad securing all remaining exits and entrances," Red Captain reported in shortly after his peer.

Vader turned his gaze to the the feed from the transmitter from the fighter that the commander was piloting towards the Medical Facility. That was another part of the mandatory pattern of attack for the forces under his direct command: swarm the enemy in all imaginable ways. The Polis Massa Forces were nothing compared to the forces of the Empire and what little defense that they had would be blown away in an instant. A normal man might have found it to be overkill – but Vader was not a normal man.

"Tie Fighter Squadron coming in at Lateral Attack Pattern," The Fighter Commander reported in usual fashion and with that, Vader used the force to deactivate the communication array.

From beside him, he saw Leia, who had a curious expression on her face and an even more curious feeling in the Force. Perhaps, in a roundabout way, this wasn't wise to expose her to the inner workings of how his forces worked and how they conquered a planet or a Star System for that matter. His trust with Leia – though it had gotten very far from what it had been when she first walked through the door to the Senate Floor – wasn't sufficient enough for him to completely and unconditionally trust her with the inner workings of the fleet. Vader didn't know what compelled him to keep her in the command center – but he wasn't making any move to stop her. Vader turned his gaze towards the General of his Commandos on the ground and raised an eyebrow, it of course wasn't visible to the man, but the man could almost feel his gaze upon him, "Are your soldiers keeping up with the time table General?"

"They're two seconds ahead, each garrison," The General reported, looking down to his command console.

Vader nodded, very, very pleased with the results that he was getting from his men and when he looked to his left at the holographic clock that was now running down on the holo-terminal in the center of the circular room. This was nerve center of the operation and that's why it was buried in the exact center of the ship, if this room sustained any sort of damage or direct hit, then it would comprise the entire assault, "I think that I'll be joining you down there."

"Are you sure that you want to see that?" Vader asked her lightly.

Leia nodded, and Vader was very pleased to see that she was enthusiastic about it, "I want those records as much as you do."

The Dark Lord nodded and turned to the General, "Inform the assault teams and the fighter squadron that the Senator and I will be arriving at the landing site in ten minutes."

* * *

><p>The Palace on Alderaan that the Organa Family occupied was, in Mara Jade's opinion, pathetic and a child's creation compared to the splendid glory of her master's palace on the Capital. However, she had to admit something to herself, something that she hated to even think, but it was true. It was a lot more comfortable, and the palace itself was a lot more personable. She had been raised in the Imperial Palace, she knew all of its twists and turns, but that took years of surveying the entire building and dozens of cases where she needed to be rescued after getting lost. This place would be a breeze to memorize and as soon as she could get her hands on a full detailed – she would memorize all exits, all air ducts and all possible escape routes.<p>

Tying her red hair back into a high bun in the traditional style of the Alderaan Palace Staff – Mara sighed and checked herself over in the mirror before leaving the quarters of her ship. She had made all the necessary adjustments to her appearance and her wardrobe and the rest was done by Imperial Intelligence. Her cover identity had already been established, she had been hired by one of the Organa Nobles, all that she had to do was report for duty and then she could begin her mission.

Making sure to grab her generated false identity and all necessary documents for the Customs Agents here on Alderaan, Mara Jade placed a neutral look on her face and reached over to lower the boarding ramp. She was now ready to begin the mission.

* * *

><p>Smoke filled the rooms, blaster craters littered the walls and doors and all the while, Leia felt completely and totally comfortable with it. With the soldiers securing the room and the occasional shout from one of the Medical Facility workers, she felt an odd sense of… satisfaction from it all. Following her father's stride, she felt his confidence radiate to her and as such, her own confidence increased and she found herself mirror his purposeful stride. Suddenly Vader stopped and when Leia looked out from behind him, he saw an Imperial Commando, in Green painted armor standing at attention, "Report Commander."<p>

"The Medical Facility Director is standing by," The Commando Commander saluted, "He is awfully mouthy my lord."

She could have sworn that she heard her father sigh, "Very well… I will cure that."

And no one doubted that Vader would shut the Director up.

* * *

><p>There was a disturbance in the force and after years of keeping track of it – Obi Wan Kenobi knew that the worst situation had been realized, something that Master Yoda and himself had taken great care to keep from happening. However, something happened to undo the secrets and he had to make sure that it wasn't going to come undone completely. At least he had the satisfaction of knowing that in order to get to the other half of the secret – the Emperor and Vader would have to go to Bail Organa himself and he would rather die than give the location of Leia's brother away.<p>

But there was something that was telling him to be cautious and not to dismiss keeping a close eye on Luke – all because he thought that the boy was completely secure where he was. Rising, he leaned down and rubbed his knee from the prompt soreness that came from it. So many years later and his knee still bothered him – but he couldn't afford to keep his mind on the injury that his former Padawan had inflicted upon him. He needed to make sure that Luke was going to be protected.

He didn't know for sure, but he was almost certain that Leia had already been taken and ensnared by her father – but he couldn't let Luke become ensnared either, no matter how remote the chances of his father finding him.

Vader couldn't be allowed to know of Luke's existence, all other concerns were secondary.


End file.
